Arranged Marriage
by Obscurite-Asile
Summary: Before vampire. May be OOC. Jasper Whitlock is a wealthy child. At age 19, his parents have arranged a marriage with someone he has never heard of and he does not like it.


Jasper was out once again, riding one of his many horses. He had a fight with his parents just a bit earlier and wanted to get his mind off everything. Riding his horse was always able to do it somehow. It was strange but he just felt free. Away from his parents and there many rules which restricted him to do anything for himself. Including finding love.

His parents had done the worst thing imaginable to him. They had arranged a marriage. A girl who he had never met before was to become his bride? Jasper knew nothing of her, except her name. That was all they would tell her. Elizabeth something. He must give the girl some credit; she did have a rather nice name.

It had been only an hour since he first left his mansion. _Mother must be worried_ he though to himself as he came across the river that was pretty far away from his house. His mother was always over protective of him. She didn't want her "precious child" to get in harms way. In fact, she was against him marrying someone she never heard of. "No good will come of it" she told his father but he didn't care. Father always got what he wanted.

Getting off, Jasper led his horse to the river. It had been a long run and Boaz must have been getting thirsty. Jasper never liked the name Boaz for a horse but as always, he had no say in it. The sun was lowering and could only just be seen over the trees.  
'It's getting late' Jasper said to himself, patting Boaz. 'We must be back soon. My future bride will be there soon' he said, rolling his eyes.

Jumping back onto Boaz, Jasper rode all the way back to his home. He would at least like to meet the women he would be faithful to for the rest of his life.

As he reached closer to his house, Jasper noticed some of his servants looking for something. He had a feeling it was him and slowed down.  
'Samuel, Marie' he called out to two of the servants. They smiled and ran over to him.  
'Master Jasper. Where have you been?' they asked. 'We have been looking for you for over two hours. Your parents are not pleased with your behavior'  
'When are they pleased with me?' Jasper asked back with a chuckle. 'Hop on. Your feet must be aching from your long search' he said and they both got up. Unlike most people, Jasper was nice to the servants. He didn't like calling them servants. Instead, he called them helpers.

It didn't take much longer until he finally reached the house. Just like he expected, his parents were outside. Jasper got off first and helped the other two. They knew nothing good was going to happen so they hurried off. Dinner was still to be made.  
'Jasper. Where have you been?' his father asked furiously, marching over to him.  
'I was merely taking Boaz for a walk father' he replied casually, walking inside and sitting down. His outfit was covered in dirt and his mother had a go at him for that but Jasper ignored her. He had heard the speech many times before.  
'Now, where is the future Mrs. Whitlock?' he asked sarcastically. 'I can't wait to meet her'

Jaspers mother had realized why Jasper was acting like that. Even though he was always like that, she refused to believe it. He always had an attitude towards his parents.  
'Gregory. I still don't think we should go through with this. He's just a baby'. Jasper rolled his eyes. He was almost twenty and still a baby in his mothers' eyes. Even though he was too young to get married, he wasn't a baby.

'Nonsense Martisha' his father replied. 'All boys his age are getting married. That boy across the road, what's his name? Peter, that's it. He's engaged'. Jaspers parents were quite opposite. They were forced into marriage to and it amazed Jasper they were still together. 'And we picked out the perfect bride. Mister Benett has two more daughters. All married to wealthy people. It's good business'

'Oh, so that's what we're here for' Jasper interrupted. 'For you guys to get a quick buck. Just sell us to wealthy families. Is that all we're good for?' he asked.  
'For you, yeah' Gregory snapped back. He was tired of his sons' behavior. It shut Jasper up and he slouched back onto the chair.

There was a knock at the door and it was clear to everyone that the family was there.  
'Bernard, answer the door' Gregory called out to a helper that was nearby. Bernard nodded and was about to answer the door when Jasper stood up.  
'No, let me get it' he insisted and waved Bernard off. Bernard nodded again and walked to the kitchen where most of the helpers were.

Jasper walked over to the door and opened it. Sure enough, there was a family at the door. There was an old man with what looked like his wife. A younger boy was there as well as a few girls. One of them looked all done up. She was in a silky pale blue gown and her black hair was flowing. She looked His eyes caught the young women and he frowned.  
'Let me guess, you're the unfortunate soul who is to be part of my family?' he asked her. The girl looked stunned and gazed up at her father, as if asking him what to say before Gregory came up.

Gregory heard it didn't like what his son was saying and ran over to them.  
'Please excuse my son' he apologized quickly, pushing Jasper out the way. 'He's not feeling that well today and is a bit moody. He's not always like this' he lied. 'Must be something he ate. You must be the Benett family.' His eyes also spotted Elizabeth. 'And you must be Elizabeth. Come in, come in.'

They all followed Gregory in and Jasper stayed at the door until the very last second. Once they all entered, Jasper closed the door and walked over to the families.


End file.
